Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-10-20
COREAN CRIMINALS.
Punishments in Vogue In tho Land Of th
Morning Calm.

Punishments in Vogue In tho Land Of th
| Morning Calm.
As America seems to be the asylum
in which men, pronounced traitors in
Cores, take up their abode, it may be
of interest to know wha sort of treat
ment these refugees would receive if
brought back. 1t may first be noted
that COrea has not been open long
enough to have imbibed sufficient mod
ern ideas of justice to induce her to
abandon the ancient and barbarous
treatment of criminals common from
olden times in Asiatic countries. The
trial is still course of fogging. in-
tended to induce the criminal to con-
fess to the cri me of which he is ac-
cused. 1t also allows of the almost I'M
limited use of '.spite work. and the re-
moval of offensive persons or the con-
fiscation of property, and if man is
formal. y accused, though there may be
nothing to prove his guilt he is still
sure of long imprisonment, and may
congratulate himself il he ever escapes
alive.
For political criminals the general
routine is varied somewhat They are
sent to special prison. called Kuhn
Poh, presided over by an officer called
the Toh Sub. This prison is located
in the center of the capital, on the
principal street, and its imposing an
trance usually arrests the attention of
visitors.
All that is necessary for the securing
OF lodging in this far too hospitable
place is that some one, for reasons
known perhaps only to himself, should
accuse a person to the magistrate of
being traitor. or of contemplating
some traitorous act. The supposed
criminal is caught and brought under
guard to the Kuhn POh, where he is
fed on bad rice and worse water. Soon
after his arrival he is treated to a
sound beating. to assist him in making
up his mind to confess If he protests
his innocence and ignorance of the
crime of which he is accused he is then
treated to other and oft-repeated beat
ings upon the joints. This is kept up
it may be for years-with occasional
intermissions. caused by the illness of
the prisoner and the necessity for his
recovery in order that full and contin-
ued "justice +" may be melted out.
Should this treatment last for so long
time as to- exhaust the patience and
ingenuity of the officials, and should
no new evidence be brought up to sup
port the feeble charge, the man may
be banished to a distant and barren
province, where. if famine, cold or
tigers have not devoured him, the royal
clemency may eventually find him and
return him, a branded man, to his
family.
If, however. the man has been guilty,
or. as is often the case, if he should de-
eide that death were preferable to a
continuation of his torture and confess
to his crime. he would soon be killed.
The manner Of killing is peculiar and
is especially obnoxious to the Catholic
Christians, who are abundant in this
country. An ordinary Roman cross is
set up on huge cart drawn by oxen.
The man is tied to this with arms OK
tended, and he is thus drawn through
the streets. A crier precedes the pro-
cession. announcing the crime for
which the man is being punished. His
friends are allowed to follow and pro-
test his innocence and bewail his sad
fate, but as the punishment is usually
visited upon the family if the treason
has been glaring, the following Of
friends is apt to be rather small.
There are two places of execution ut
the capital. One, seldom used, is in
the city, while the chief place is just
outside the west gate, on a hillside,
where the immense crowds upon the
CITY wall and other biOh nlocoo CON nro<